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How to Align Two Elements Left and Right Using Tailwind CSS?

Last Updated : 23 Jul, 2025
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To align two elements left and right means placing one element on the left and the other on the right, within the same container. This layout is often used in headers, footers, or navigation bars to create a clean, balanced design.

In Tailwind CSS, you can easily do this using flow-root or using Tailwind CSS Position class to control the layout and positioning.

Method 1: Using the flow-root utility

The flow-root utility in Tailwind CSS creates a block formatting context that clears floated elements. By applying flow-root to a parent container and using float-left and float-right on child elements, you can easily align elements to the left and right.

Syntax:

<div class="flow-root">  
    <p class="float-left">Welcome to GeeksforGeeks</p> 
    <p class="float-right">A complete portal for geeks</p>
</div>
HTML
<html>
<head>
    <title>
        Using flow-root utility
    </title>
    <link href="https://unpkg.com/[email protected]/dist/tailwind.min.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <style>
        body,
        h2 {
            text-align: center;
        }
    </style>
</head>

<body>
    <h2 style="color:green"> GeeksforGeeks </h2>
    <b>
        Positions using class flow-root
    </b>
    <br />
    <br />
    <div class="flow-root">
        <p class="float-left text-green-600"> Welcome to GeeksforGeeks </p>
        <p class="float-right text-green-800"> A complete portal for geeks </p>
    </div>
</body>
</html>

Output

Method 2: Tailwind CSS Position class

The Tailwind CSS position class allows precise element placement using relative and absolute. Set the parent as relative, then apply absolute on child elements. Combine with left-0, right-0, or other utilities to position elements on the left or right.

Syntax:

<div class="relative">
    <p class="absolute left-0">
        Welcome to GeeksforGeeks
    </p> 
    <p class="absolute right-0">
        A complete portal for geeks 
    </p>
</div>

Note: You can use the {top|right|bottom|left|inset}-0 utilities to anchor absolutely positioned elements against any of the edges of the nearest positioned parent. You can also use the top and bottom parameters to position the element in the way that you want. 

HTML
<html>
<head>
    <title>
        Tailwind CSS Position class
    </title>
    <link href="https://unpkg.com/[email protected]/dist/tailwind.min.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <style>
        body,
        h2 {
            text-align: center;
        }
    </style>
</head>

<body>
    <h2 style="color:green"> GeeksforGeeks </h2>
    <b>
        Position left and right using
        relative class
    </b>
    <br />
    <br />
    <div class="relative">
        <p class="absolute left-0 text-green-600"><b> Welcome to GeeksforGeeks </b></p>
        <p class="absolute right-0 text-green-800"><b> A complete portal for geeks </b></p>
    </div>
</body>
</html>

Output:

When to Use Which Method?

Feature

flow-root + float

relative + absolute

Simplicity

Easy to implement

Slightly more complex

Precise Control

Limited

Full control over position

Responsiveness

Works well

May require media queries

Nested Elements

Can break with nested content

Safe for complex layouts

Use Case

Simple text layout

Headers, navbars, buttons, icons

Conclusion

Aligning elements left and right is a core layout need, and Tailwind CSS offers multiple clean, utility-first solutions:

  • Use flow-root + floats(flow root utility) for quick and simple alignment.
  • Use relative + absolute(Talwind CSS position class) for full control in more complex layouts.

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